Broken Promises
by coffee-raid
Summary: "A deal's a deal. But sometimes, the price that comes along becomes more than the deal itself." Nathan Scott had remained true to his arrogant, egotistical self when he agreed to a deal that involved Haley James. However, he soon realizes that somewhere along the way the burden of the price that comes along with the deal becomes much more than intended for. Much, much more...
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

Here's my new story, "Only Just A Deal". I know that I have an unfinished story left. However, this idea had been in my head for quite some time now and I couldn't allow the inspiration for this story pause any longer. :) Especially not when the inspiration strikes in so rarely now-a-days.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I own nothing related to One Tree Hill. Nothing at all.

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><p><strong>"Broken Promises"<strong>

**PROLOGUE**

**_June 2009._**

"Get out."

"Haley…"

Haley James had never been this broken. Her hands trembled by her side. Tears flowed without any obstruction down her cheeks. Short hitches in her breath interrupted her speech. Not that her words formed a speech anyway. All she repeated over and over again were two words.

"Get. Out."

She watched as the man in front of her ran his palm over his face and through his hair before finally letting it hang loosely by his side. She could see a tear track on his cheek. Although, a vast part of her screamed to fall into his embrace and forget everything, she couldn't let her self-respect take a seat in the sidelines.

He cautiously took a step forward, extending his hand slowly towards her. She slapped it away before pushing him. She hadn't bothered applying much force because, frankly, she hadn't a tiny ounce of strength left in her.

The past ten minutes had drained her in all ways possible.

He didn't offer any resistance as he let his back hit the door lightly. He wanted to force himself out of that place. He wanted to slap himself into the understanding that everything had been his own fault; that he was the solely responsible for her pain; that he had single-handedly destroyed the only good thing in his life. However, in spite of his mind screaming at him to do otherwise, all he did was extend his arm again and pull her towards him by the hip swiftly.

She protested by clenching her hands into tight fists and swinging them at his chest.

"Let me go. Let me go." She screamed as she punched his chest wildly.

"No." His voice was low and he held her even closer. He looked down at her, ignoring the punches she was throwing at him. He felt slight pain as she continued her outburst. But then again, he sure as hell deserved it. His hold on her never faltered, and he desperately wished that he could change the past few months.

He couldn't bear her pain. He couldn't bear her screaming and crying because of him. He wished for a different punishment. He wished for something other than seeing her broken.

_Anything but this. Anything but this. _He chanted internally.

Her punches suddenly stopped as she lifted her head up. Her brown orbs that once brought warmth to him now seemed cold and distraught. He could see the glossy eyes look up at him in betrayal.

"I'm so sor –"

"No!" She snapped, forcibly pushing herself away from his embrace. "You don't get to say that. You don't deserve to say that."

Crossing her arms over her chest to control some of her trembling, she took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a second to gather a vestige of pseudo-composure.

He watched as she opened her eyes again, her firmness gaining more strength now. Despite all the odds that faced him, he silently hoped for a miracle – one which involved her to forgive his follies, to forgive his idiocy. But Haley was correct; he did not deserve an easy way out. He did not deserve her kindness. He did not deserve her.

He looked at her one more time, steadily running his gaze over her, admiring her traits and cringing at his torment on them.

Turning back, he placed his hand on the knob. He heard himself muttering one last apology in a whisper so soft that he was sure it went unheard by Haley. Opening the door, he walked outside shutting it behind him. Without turning back, he continued walking towards his car. His actions were quick as he drove away from the driveway.

The entire ride was quick and devoid of any vocal thoughts or emotions. His hands gripped hard at the gear and the steering wheel. His mind, focused on the destination.

After ten minutes filled with several traffic violations, he finally reached. Without wasting another second, he walked briskly towards the white colored house in front of him. Slamming open the front door, he quickly hurried up the stairs. He stopped when he saw a red-haired girl walking towards him with an amused expression.

He took a step back, calming his erratic breaths before he spoke. He forced himself not to curse out or yell at the person standing in front of him. Placing the blame on someone else wouldn't solve matters. It was solely his decision, _his_ decision that _he_ would have to pay for.

"I did what you asked." He looked at the smile that played on the girl's face, wincing at the audacity of her expression.

"Now, you need to do what I said."

The girl nodded, her smile not wavering the slightest. "A deal's a deal."

_"Have we got ourselves a deal?" She extended her hand towards him._

_Nathan waited for a second, pondering over his decision one last time. With one weary breath, he shook her outstretched hand, nodding. "A deal's a deal."_

He let out a humorless chuckle as he realized that she was quoting him. Irony had never felt this painful. "Yeah," he croaked.

_A deal's a deal._

Haley's torn face flashed before his eyes as his thoughts wandered to earlier events of the day.

_But sometimes, the price that comes along becomes more than the deal itself._

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><p><strong>To be continued or not?<strong>

**Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter One

**A/N:** I had to make a slight change in the previous chapter ('Prologue'). You could go through it before proceeding. :)

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE<strong>

**_January, 2009_**

It was the first game of the season, and every other player had left the locker room save for a particular blue-eyed one. After the horrible losing streak the Ravens had for the past few years, a lot was riding on Nathan Scott, captain of the Tree Hill High's basketball team. A fucking lot.

Staring at the open locker in front of him, Nathan felt suffocated. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. A second later, he still felt uneasy…and suffocated. He quickly glanced around making sure that he was completely alone.

He extended his hand into his locker, grabbing the packet as fast as he could. The clock was ticking, leaving him with very little time…_very_, very little time.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He had no idea whom he was apologizing to.

Opening the packet, he poured two small white cylindrical pills onto his palm. Without a second's ado, he gulped them in. Shoving the packet back into the locker, he slammed it shut, locking it.

He could feel a kick within him and immediately took few long breaths to prevent hyperventilating. The clock continued ticking as he realized he could not delay any longer.

Walking out of the wide door, he plastered a wide smirk across his face. He was the captain of the Ravens. He was the captain of the team that was going to start off their victorious season with a fucking bang.

He was sure of that. There was no stopping him now.

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><p>"Scott, over here!"<p>

Nathan glanced sideways to see Jake signaling him. In a swift movement, Nathan used his reflexes to shoot the ball in his hand to Jake. He ran alongside, blocking the opponents from getting the ball. Jake sprinted across the court before finally throwing the ball back to Nathan.

_Swoosh!_

The ball slid beautifully through the hoop. The Tree Hill Ravens had scored their first win of the season.

A wild cheer echoed through the court as the audience stood on their feet, clapping loudly. The cheerleaders did their celebratory routine, cheering loudly for their team. Coach Durham sported a wide smile on his face, glad that all the hardwork was finally showing through.

And there in the middle of the court was Nathan, perched high up on the shoulders of his teammates.

"Ravens!" He hollered, flashing the trophy in his hands. The grin on his face said it all – this was his life; this was his passion. This moment was worth all the crap in his life. This moment was worth the past few hours of apprehension and guilt. This moment was worth the ache and pretense. In this moment, he was Nathan Scott – the true Nathan Scott.

Maybe the extra push he subjected himself to a few hours earlier wasn't really required. Maybe he would have done great anyway. But it didn't matter. In this little moment, it didn't matter.

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><p>Dan Scott banged open his son's bedroom door.<p>

"What the fuck was that?" He yelled at a surprised Nathan.

Nathan gulped discretely. _Does he know?_

"What, Dad?"

"Don't fucking 'what,dad' me. Don't." Dan stepped forward, directly in face with Nathan.

Nathan took a protective stance backwards. _What the fuck was wrong with him again?_

Dan was fuming, the anger radiated off of him. "That game you just played, what the fuck was that? What was the need of passing on the ball in the end? You couldn't feel confident enough to make your own shot?"

_He couldn't be serious. No, he just couldn't_. Nathan stared at his father with a disbelieving look. A second later, that look was replaced with one of fury.

"I wasn't confident? I wasn't confident?" Nathan scoffed. "Look, _Dan_, in case you were too busy pondering over my faults and shit, let me just remind you a little. That last shot was made by me! Almost all the fucking shots were made by me. That was the best game the Ravens had ever played since a very long time. And it was fucking amazing. My confidence was fucking amazing. Everything was fucking amazing." Nathan's voice rose with every sentence, stressing on every curse a lot more than intended for.

Dan stepped back subconsciously. He hadn't heard Nathan yell at him like this before. He suspected that he might even start hitting him any minute now. Nathan was fiercely defensive as he stared at Dan with a hard look…and if there was one thing Dan knew, it was that his son definitely had the strength to physically overtake him.

His voice lowered a notch. "Get out, Dan. Thanks for the lovely time, _again_." His words were laden with sarcasm.

"Nath –" Dan started before abruptly shutting off. His son did not look like he was in a mood to discuss. Without another word, he walked out of the apartment, slamming the door as loudly as he did while entering.

"Fuck!" A loud scream resounded through the house.

He pushed away the contents of his side table with full force, sending them flying on the floor. Turning around, he landed a punch on the wall. Blood gushed out from his knuckles, but he didn't care.

Only Dan Scott could do this to him.

A ring from his cell phone broke into the heated silence. He pulled out his phone from his sweatshirt pocket, wincing at the name that flashed across the screen.

Knowing how persistent the person on the other line was, he decided to answer it. He could not deal with the annoying ringing of his phone now.

"What?" He barked.

_"Nice to hear from you too, Nate."_

"Get to the point, Rachel."

_"Fine. Meet me at the River Court right now."_

"Look, I'm not interested in your fucking games now. Bother me later."

_"No, Nathan. I think you are. After all drugs are kind of interesting, don't you think?"_

Fuck.

His face turned pale at the shocking statement. _How did she know? How?_ He was sure that no one was around at that time. Or was he?

_"Judging by your silence, I'm guessing you're interested now."_ A low chuckle followed. _"Five minutes, Nathan. I won't be here all night."_

With that, the call disconnected.

His stomach felt uneasy for the second time that night as he rushed out, grabbing the car keys in his hand.

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><p>The drive was fast and ruthless. He slowed down as soon as he saw the silhouettes of a car and a person, unmoved in the silence.<p>

He turned off the ignition and stepped out. The cool breeze didn't affect him much – his body was pretty cold anyway. So was the heart of the girl walking up towards him.

Her face came into view as she slowly stepped in front of him, standing a few feet away.

"Hi, Nathan." Her words dripped with mockery…and sadism.

"Skip the fucking pleasantries, Rachel."

Rachel laughed humorlessly. "I think you should probably be on your knees now, begging for forgiveness. I'm starting to think I was naïve enough to think that drugs would give you better manners. Who was I kidding? You're still the same."

"If you wanted to waste my time –"

"Ah, no. No. Patience, Nate. I'm coming to it."

"You can't prove anything." Nathan smirked, realizing that he would have definitely heard a camera going off.

"Well, that's the thing with technology, you know? Almost everything is possible. It's like the modern evidence of 'where there's a will, there's a way'."

He laughed dryly at that. "You're full of bullshit."

"I know." Rachel smirked back. "Ever heard of the word, 'video'?"

She took out her phone and pressed a button. She turned it around to show him a video of him taking few pills from his palm. The video wasn't high quality, but one could easily make out Nathan and the pills from it. That was all that was needed.

She placed the phone back in her pocket after the video ended, smirking at Nathan's cold stare.

His jaw was set hard, clenching his teeth at the situation. This was fucked up. This would screw up his chance at Duke or any other college for that matter. If that happened, he would have to bid adieu to basketball. If that happened, he would never escape from the wrath of Dan Scott. All in all, he was fucked up.

"Now, what can I do with the video that will potentially destroy your life?" Rachel tilted her head, pretending to think.

"What do you want?" He asked, the anger storming in his eyes.

Rachel stopped smiling. Her face grew a serious look. "Does the name 'Haley James' ring a bell?"

"You want Haley James?" Nathan shot her an incredulous look.

"Let me finish." She crossed her arms over her chest. "She is the girl responsible for my suspension that occurred few weeks ago. I was gone for a month. I'm sure you noticed that. Right, Natey?"

He cringed at the endearment.

"So I stole a couple of tests from the tutoring centre. She caught me in the process. Instead of shutting her mouth, she actually had the audacity to rattle out everything to Principal Turner. I thought tutors were supposed to help weak students. She obviously didn't and I had to face the brunt of being suspended. I had to face the fucking humiliation in front of the whole school."

Nathan sighed. He was getting frustrated. "Rachel, what has that got to do with me?"

Recovering from her rant, she grinned. "Why, everything."

She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts and mentally smiling at her cleverness.

"You need to seduce Haley, trick her into falling for you and stomp her heart. You will publicly humiliate her in the way that she deserves. In doing so, your future in basketball will be not be hampered with."

Rachel smiled the evil smile that one often finds in animated characters. She looked at the wide-eyed shocked expression at Nathan's face. If flying high up in clouds would have been possible, she might have done that right now.

Nathan took a minute to absorb in her words. He had never met a greater conniving bitch than her.

"Why not do it yourself? The 'publicly humiliate' crap?" He seethed.

"I don't want to get my hands dirty." She shrugged. "And it really shouldn't be hard for you. Don't you do this on a regular basis? Sleep with 'em and dump 'em – that's pretty much your motto." Her voice carried a tinge of resentment.

"Fuck you, Rachel."

"First her, Natey." She smugly stated

He stared at her for one long minute. She was right in way. This would be a normal thing for him. But over here, he didn't even know Haley. He just saw her in some of his classes. He didn't feel right about playing with the emotions of someone he didn't know. That seemed too harsh – even for him.

On the other hand, there was a chance that his career would be destroyed before it even commenced. And that scared the fuck out of him. He couldn't lose basketball. He couldn't give it away.

It was his _dream._

"Have we got ourselves a deal?" She extended her hand towards him.

Nathan waited for a second, pondering over his decision one last time. With one weary breath, he shook her outstretched hand, nodding. "A deal's a deal."

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><p><strong>I would really love it if you review and let me know your opinion. :)<strong>


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: The title has been changed, as you have noticed. The previous one was more of a working title, hence the change.**

**A massive thank you to **GRemy, GottaluvNaley, Jessica, Steph Berg, Dreyyy**and the guest reviewers for the reviews. Thank you to the followers and those who've favourited this story too. :) You're amazing!**

**Apologies in advance, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter. It's kind of a filler one, but the upcoming chapters will definitely have more Naley in them.**

**So, without further ado, read on!**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

"You seem awfully quiet today." Lucas Scott leaned against his locker and eyed his best friend with a worried expression. He paused before continuing. "Is it them, _again_?"

Haley grabbed her AP Calculus book from her locker, sighing softly. The way he said _again _perturbed her, and yet she felt that he had a right to use that term. She faced him with a wry smile. "I should've gotten used it to by now, right?"

"Haley…" He trailed off. Frankly, he didn't know what to say. For the past four years, the routine had remained steadfast – promises, broken promises, apologies, tears, more promises. The unending cycle had bothered him before, and he figured that that wasn't going to change any time soon.

"It's okay, Luke. I don't…you don't have to worry. I'll be fine." She managed to smile, trying to ease away the tension and worry on his face. "You don't have to worry." She repeated.

"I'll stop worrying the day you start making a proper free throw." He chuckled at her indignant expression. He knew that dwelling on it on such a public forum wouldn't be effective. Not when their discussion was privy to the gossip-crazed teens around them. He'd talk to her about it when they were alone.

"Laugh it off, Luke. But just to remind you, I can totally kick your ass at mini-golf." She playfully whacked his arm. She understood what he was trying to do. With all those years of having him as her best friend, Haley silently thanked Lucas for understanding her completely.

"Speaking of the weird fascination with shooting orange balls through a net, do you have practice after school today?"

He laughed. "Not today. Why?"

"Oh. I have to be in the Tutor Centre today after school, to meet a new student. I thought we could leave together."

"I could pick you up later."

She shook her head. "Never mind, I'll catch a bus. It might take me some time to finish up, anyway. "

Lucas nodded. "Okay."

She glanced around in silence when their conversation reached a comfortable pause. Despite her mind's better intentions, she thought about the conversation she shared with her parents the night before. They were supposed to be home this weekend – a get-together that was well-deserved after eleven long months. She was excited to meet them. Two-minute long phone conversations could only cover so much of her need for her parents. However, the previous night's conversation dampened their relations furthermore – from her side, at least. They couldn't make it. Surprise, surprise.

"How's practice now-a-days?" She asked. An abrupt change in topics was absolutely essential.

He smiled a little. "Great, surprisingly. Nathan has been passing the ball more often. Even the team has stopped pulling off pranks on me."

She smiled back widely. "I'm glad, Luke."

She _was _glad_. _If anyone deserved a chance at happiness, a chance at shining on their own merit, a chance at escaping the past – it was Lucas Scott. The Dan Scott debacle had created many a hardship in his life. Perhaps this time, things would be different for him.

"There's another thing, Haley. I actually asked Brooke out." Lucas admitted.

"About time."

"You're not surprised?"

Haley smiled knowingly. "I can't say this was unexpected, Luke. You've had your eyes set on her since freshman year."

He let out a shy laugh. "I thought that maybe with me joining the basketball team, she'd finally notice me."

"Her naked-in-the-backseat-of-your-car incident certainly proved that she did more than just _notice_ you."

He chuckled, attempting to cover up the blush on his cheeks at the thought of a half-naked Brooke Davis.

"What did she say?"

"Well, she smiled and pretty much hinted that I'll have my answer by the end of the last class."

_After she asks Nathan – _the knowing thought crossed their minds.

"You think it'll be weird for him?" Lucas hesitantly asked.

"Maybe. But he shouldn't be the one to dictate over her life. Don't' worry, Lucas. You, my friend, will be fretting over the preparations for the perfect date as early as today evening." She laughed.

"I hope you're right."

The bell rang, immediately creating a chattering scurry in the hallway. The two friends waved at each other before heading towards their respective classes.

Away from the company of her best friend's love dilemma, those painful thoughts crept up Haley's mind once again, as she approached her Calculus class.

_Calculus doesn't disappoint_, she reassured herself as she entered her first class of the day.

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><p>"Boytoy!"<p>

Nathan Scott turned just in time to embrace a dimpled brunette who rushed into his arms. She pushed off him when she noticed the sweat on him.

"You're disgusting." She mock-dusted herself, the smile never leaving her face.

She was vaguely aware of the occupants of the school basketball court staring at them. She could care less, though.

Over the years, both Brooke Davis and her best friend received a fair share of stares thrown in their way, eventually growing immune to them. Owing to the fact that their parents had shared several elite business dinners, the two had bonded from the young age of five. Sharing the same classes since kindergarten, both of them had grown elaborately close to each other, to the extent that others often mistook them as a couple. However, a failed relationship during their freshman year made them realize that their friendship was better off without any romantic liaisons. Granted they did have their string of meaningless sex, but Brooke and Nathan lived off better as friends. Best friends.

"You're disgusting," he repeated, poking out his tongue at her.

She returned the same. "Great comeback, Nathan."

"Ha-ha." He deadpanned. "So, is there a reason behind the sudden outburst of emotions, or did you just feel like embracing my sexy body?" He smirked at her disgusted expression.

"I'm going to ignore your obvious signal for inflating your ego and actually come to the topic I wanted to talk to you about."

"I'm listening."

Twirling slightly, Brooke took a deep breath. "It's about Lucas. He asked me out."

Shock stretched across Nathan's face, removing their previous mood of playfulness. "He asked you out?"

"Nathan, I like him. I really do. I know that the relation between the two of you isn't exactly ideal, but for once I want to actually know him instead of…you know?" She didn't have to say the rest – he knew her too well for that.

She waited for a minute, but spoke up when Nathan glanced at his shoes instead of speaking. With a soft sigh, she proceeded. "I won't if it's weird for you, though."

Her statement piqued Nathan's interest as he finally glanced up at her. "Brooke, you don't have to do that. Yes, we don't really mesh well – hell, we don't mesh _at all_. But if you like him, I'm not going to be the one to stop you from going after what you want, Brooke. I love you too much to let some family drama come in the way of what you want. We've got enough family drama that fucks us up anyway."

She smiled at the last line, prompting him to break out in a chuckle as well. His dominating father and alcoholic mother served him his share of family fuck-ups, while her absentee parents gave Brooke her share. Eventually, the two had managed to indulge in an occasional jibe at their family-induced complications.

"You sure?" she asked softly.

He nodded, the sight of her overjoyed face pleasing him.

Without thinking of his sweaty condition, she hugged him again. "Thank you, Nathan. It means a lot."

"Brooke…uhh… do you know Haley James?" He blurted. Rachel's pact with him hadn't escaped his mind, resulting in it plaguing him ever since yesterday night. He had finally found an outlet to commence it but wanted to re-check his opportunity. The thought made him shudder in disgust – but when it came down to his dreams, he couldn't harm his chances.

"She is in my Calculus class. Why?"

Aware of the fact that he was going to implement the arrangement he made with Rachel, Nathan weighed the consequences of revealing the same to Brooke. He realized that despite his friendship with Brooke, he couldn't bring about to telling her about the pact.

"I'm failing my English class, and Principal Turner implied that unless I get my grades up, it's the end of basketball for me. I heard that she's a great tutor."

A partial truth – he was doing miserably (not failing, though) English, and Principal Turner did imply the relation between maintaining grades and basketball to every player who was in their senior year.

Nodding slightly, Brooke agreed. "From what I've heard, Haley is a good tutor."

"Yeah." He muttered.

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><p>Haley bent down to pull out some files. Her new student was fifteen minutes late, leaving little room left for her patience.<p>

The door opened, alerting her of the presence of, perhaps, her new student. Standing up, she looked to see the new occupant of the room and received a shock she had never expected. Praying frantically that her fears wouldn't come true, she fixed her brown orbs on him. She stared at him silently, before realizing that neither of them had spoken in the past few minutes.

"Can I help you?" She firmly asked, regarding the tension in the room.

Nathan was visibly taken aback by her seriousness – he hadn't expected that. He let his eyes travel over her face, noticing that the stern expression hadn't been erased. Recovering from the falter in his confidence, he handed over a slip to her.

"I sure hope so. You're my tutor."

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><p><strong>I would really like to hear about your opinion of this chapter.<strong>


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: Yeah, I was dormant for quite some time. Apologies for that. I hope you haven't given up on this yet. I'd really love your support. :)**

**Thank you **Jen, bzmc, l . bergin94, and all the other guest reviewers, and to the ones who've put me on their alert lists.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

**shock****  
><strong>

Pronunciation: /ʃɒk

/

NOUN

**1 **A sudden upsetting or surprising event or experience

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><p>Shock. There was only one emotion swirling in the mind of Haley James. And that had been the case for the past two minutes – the entirety of which comprised of her eyes widening at Nathan's statement, and the subsequent narrowing of those very eyes. Yeah, that was 'shock' alright.<p>

Earlier in the morning, when Mr. Henry told her that she would be expecting a new student later that day, hardly did the name of Tree Hill High's resident arrogant brat strike as a possible candidate in her mind. It wasn't as though that possibility wouldn't have been fathomable at all, but as far as high school prejudices went, she very well assumed that just like the other benefits handed over to him, he'd be exempted from the pressures of academic balance as long as he retained his basketball status.

Clearly, that didn't seem to be the case today.

"Tutor? You want me to tutor you? She finally replied, peering at the slip in her hand. When she looked up, his arrogant smirk – that she thought was momentarily displaced in the first few seconds of his appearance in the Tutor Centre – was firmly set in place.

Nathan had an amused look on his face. That, however, quickly disappeared when she looked at him with plain fury – eyebrows arched, one hand on the hip and all. She was going to be a tough nut to crack.

He shifted his weight on one foot, casually leaning against the door. "I don't _want _you to tutor me. It says here that you _are_ my tutor." Well, there goes his plan of charming her with kind and soothing words. Her incredulous expression conveyed to him that she thought the same as well.

With a firm tone, Haley said, "I'll speak to Principal Turner to find some other tutor for you." She extended her hand to hand over the slip back to him.

Nathan didn't prepare for the proceedings of this conversation. This was definitely not going his way. "What do you mean by that? I thought..."

"Clearly you thought wrong. In case you haven't noticed, I'm quite busy." She signaled to the open cabinet and the files on the desk beside her. "I wouldn't be able to help you."

He inched forward. "Why?"

Quite honestly, she was surprised by the lack of any hint of sarcasm or sneer in that one-worded question of his. Perhaps she expected more...hatred. Perhaps.

"Nathan, I'm sorry. I'm best friends with Lucas."

He noticed that this was the first time he had heard his name from her mouth. And just like that, out of the blue, his mind decided that he liked that. The way the two syllables carefully rolled out of her tongue. Fucking shit, he could get used to...wait, wait, back the fuck up. Where had that come from? '_Carefully rolled out_' – what the fuck? What the actual fuck? He reminded himself that the name of his number one enemy was uttered in that very sentence too. He felt an abnormal emotion inside him – something between anger and envy.

"Well, then I'm sorry too."

She stared at him for a second, almost as though she wanted to retort something back to him. She changed her mind. Shaking her head slightly, she turned to face the cabinet when she heard him sigh.

"Look, I" he began, "I'm sorry. There is no one else. Alright? I'd be fine with it if there was."

"If there were." Her little reflex action of a correction brought a slight smile to his defeated face. It was quickly gone as she turned to face him.

Before she could say anything, he spoke again. "Please." There was a certain hint of desperation to his voice, and Nathan be damned if he dared to deny that. He hadn't begged for anything. _Ever._ A particular incident between Dan Scott and a ten-year old birthday boy in the form of Nathan threw him off of that idea entirely. He was merely ten years when he asked – no, pleaded – his father to let him host a birthday party with his friends. It didn't even have to be large-scaled – he just wanted a day with his friends. With Deb being away on some "fucking business shit", Dan decided that he had no one to overpower his decisions that day – and so, Nathan Scott spent his tenth birthday practicing his free throws. Without a cake. Without a party. Without any fucking good outcome of his pleading.

He wouldn't go through that path again, his ten-year self had firmly decided. Seven years later, and he finds himself breaking that promise.

Never would she have thought that Nathan Scott, basketball extraordinaire would be asking her for something. Never in a million years. _Exaggeration much?_ she thought. However, the day seemed to be quite unusual.

She was never a mean person – not even to the blue-eyed enemy of her best friend. Despite how much she could try, she couldn't be one. Despite slowly surrendering to her helpful nature, she couldn't deter that annoying feeling in the back of her mind, the feeling that made her sure that this was going to come back to bite – devour, rather – her in the ass.

"I've got two conditions." He looked at her, surprised. And glad.

"One – every morning at the docks. Six o'clock, precisely."

What the -? Who wakes up that early? He opened his mouth to express his evident displeasure when her eyebrows took a threatening position – actually, her _entire_ stance challenged him to back away. He closed his mouth shut.

"And two," she drawled, still eyeing him. "Two, you stay the hell away from Lucas, and I mean it. No torturing him, no hazing him, no demeaning him."

He expected the second condition. Her palpable loyalty towards Lucas wouldn't be easily forgettable when it came to her dealing with his rival. He could live with that. After all, lest he should forget, the main target of _all_ of this was Haley, not the bastard-child.

"Fine." He nodded.

She shrugged back; _shocked_ at the way she had handled the conversation.

He seemed to take note of her reluctance to proceed with further unnecessary conversation, and decided to take his leave. Moreover, he would have the time to undertake that aspect in the future. The _near _future.

He turned to walk out when he halted at the threshold abruptly. Angling his head toward her, he smiled – an actual smile, not a half-smirk – at her. "Thank you for doing this."

Who said charm didn't work? Not him, not anymore, because from the slight smile that he got in response, he deduced one little detail. _Phase one: Complete._

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><p><strong>How was this?<strong>


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Big thanks to** GottaluvNaley, l . bergin94(I'm sorry, FF seems to delete your name if I don't type it without spaces :/), bzmc, rocklesson86 **for reviewing.**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

_Oomph! _

Nathan winced as his toe hit the sharp edge of the coffee table. His head pounded miserably, making him sway back a little before plopping down on the couch from where he had woken up just a few seconds ago. His eyes shut on their own accord. Bringing his hand to his head, he tried to massage away that imminent headache. _What the fuck happened last night?_

Squinting forcibly, he assessed the condition of –what looked like – his living room. Red plastic cups were scattered everywhere; three bottles of booze stood on the T.V. table, and a number of those were strewn all over the carpet; a blinking sign that read 'GAME OVER' flashed on the T.V screen. And when he had dared to glance at the open kitchen in the left side of the room, he could see that the mess had spread well over there as well.

"Could have at least bothered to clean the place. Assholes," he muttered painfully, still reeling from the hammering hangover.

But who was he kidding anyway? It's not as if he had expected Tim or Damien or the rest of the team to clean once they had successfully thrashed the place after another one of – as Tim liked to call it – "the team's booze fests". Whatever that meant.

He groaned again. This time, because of his alarm blaring all the way from the bedroom. He decided against snoozing back on the couch, aware of the fact that his crap-shit of an alarm wouldn't let him sleep.

So he walked those grudging steps to his room where, fortunately enough, the after-effects of the party weren't detectable. Shutting off the alarm, he almost dropped on his very inviting bed when his mobile phone caught his attention. A reminder blinked on the screen. He opened it and was immediately tempted to throw his head against the wall.

_This just keeps getting better_, he thought as his reminder _reminded_ him of his tutoring session with Haley. He could blow it off, and sleep out his hangover to his heart's content. But this was Haley, and he knew that she was counting on him to back out and once he did that, it was, ''_poof!_ Bye-bye Duke''.

So, his decision was obvious. "Fuck." Ranting out the expletive over and over, he made his way to the bathroom. He had five minutes to get ready and rush to the docks before he blew his only chance. Nathan thought that was manageable until he turned on the shower. He yelled in frustration, "Fucking cold water."

Okay, maybe it was _not_ manageable.

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><p>"You're late, and you look like hell," were the first words that came from Haley's mouth as she saw him approaching the table. Her expression was stern as she conspicuously checked her watch.<p>

Nathan sat opposite to her, rolling his eyes. "Thanks," he answered.

"It's six-thirty. That's thirty minutes later than when we were supposed to meet."

He chuckled. "I'm not _that_ bad at math, Hales."

"It's_ Haley_." She emphasized, disconcerted by his blatant use of her nick-name. Only her _friends_ got to call her that, though she ignored how naturally her name rolled off his tongue. _Don't read too much into this_, she willed herself. "And that wasn't the point. You were supposed to be here at six. Not after that."

Sighing, he looked at her. "I'm sorry, okay? Look, you said so yourself – I look like hell. Now that obviously means that I couldn't get ready...that I was already aware of my tardiness. And I'm sorry. But I'm here right now, right? So, can we start now?" His voice softened with each statement. "Please?" He added.

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow and dropping it a second later. She could see that he did try, and despite how good the fresh-messed-up-out-of-bed look suited him, it definitely meant that he had decided to not blow the session off. _That's got to mean something when it comes to Nathan Scott, right?_ She judged.

Wordlessly, she opened her English book. "Tardiness, huh? Looks like you're not _that_ bad at English either." Her lips curved to form a smile so that he knew that she meant it as a joke.

He met her eyes, surprised at the sudden change in her mood. He recognized her attempt, not for a second assuming that she was trying to demean him. As he grinned back, he felt a bit of the burdening stress sifting away, for the first time since he woke up that morning.

"Where do you want to begin?"

He shrugged, eyeing the pages warily as she pointed out a few pages. Despite doing this as a part of a deal, Nathan understood that he _actually_ needed the tutoring lessons whether he wanted them or not.

"Alright," Haley began with a practiced tone. "We'll start with the chapter on which Ms. Blake is conducting a test next week."

"We have a test?!" He groaned. His phone rang immediately before Haley could respond.

Nathan glanced at the caller ID. _Dan_. _Ah, just what I needed to complete the crapiness of this morning. _Switching off the phone, he decided to deal with his father later.

She watched his actions with a confused expression – the phone was placed in her near vicinity, allowing her to read the caller ID as well. But she wasn't going to ask him why he suddenly turned tense, or why he looked so inclined to shout at the caller, or why he was staring at her now with an irritated expression.

So, instead this is what she settled for –"So, this chapter essentially describes the relationship..."

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><p>Peyton Sawyer walked towards her usual table, carrying a tray of inedible cafeteria food. She noticed only one occupant who was engrossed in reading a book. "Woah, Hales. Careful there. You don't want them to think you're some nerd," she drawled out the last word in her best mock-conspiratorial voice.<p>

Said 'nerd' looked up at her friend and the both of them erupted in a messy giggling fit as they mocked the inane high school presumptions.

"Where are the others?" Peyton asked after the giggles ceased.

"Well, Whitey wanted to talk to Lucas, so he's probably with him. And Jake –"

" – had to stay at home because of Jenny's fever." Peyton blushed as Haley knowingly smiled at the sentence completion.

"So, how did the session go?"

Haley put her book down and bit her lower lip. "I haven't really told you the entire thing; about who I'm tutoring."

Peyton looked surprised.

"I'm tutoring Nathan. Before you ask, Lucas knows about this, but he is obviously not pleased. Truthfully, we haven't really spoken much since yesterday evening after I told him. And not because we're at a Cold War with each other or something because I thought that's something only us girls did with each other. I mean, not that Luke and I hate each other now, or at least that's what I think. But I'm not too sure 'cause it's Nathan that we're talking about and you know how it is and –"

"Stop rambling." Peyton halted her speech. She smiled, as Haley looked flustered and nodded in understanding.

"Wow. Nathan, huh?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm sure Lucas would get over it."

"I'm hoping for that. I really don't want this to be problem for us." She leaned back in her chair.

"It won't." She took a bite of her sandwich, made a disgusted face, swallowed it down with water and pushed the tray away. "Don't eat that. You're just tutoring him, right?"

"Of course." Haley failed to understand the rhetoric. Peyton noticed this but chose not to comment on it.

Instead, she said, "There's no harm in that. Lucas has no reason to worry."

"You know, it's good to see Nathan finally asking for help." She spoke of her ex-boyfriend. Her ten-months-old relationship with Nathan had been anything but steady. It had been effervescent, passionate but effervescent. When she finally gathered the courage to end it, she felt relieved. Her relief was greatly extended when he didn't harbor any resentment towards her after the break-up, realizing that the decision was better than that of them staying together. They had managed to be friends – not as great as him and Brooke, or her and Lucas, but it sufficed.

"I doubt that. Seems more like Principal Turner slapping him with an ultimatum – either raise or grades, or say good-bye to basketball," Haley mused.

"Unlikely. But who knows?" The two of them fell in a comfortable silence before Peyton asked, "So how was it?"

Haley replied in confusion. "How was what?"

"Er – the session?" Peyton held back the smirk as Haley looked flustered again.

"Oh, right. Ha." She chuckled, wondering why on earth she was so out of her composed self today. "He was late, and –" She hesitated as she wondered whether or not to tell her friend about Dan calling him. Peyton must know more about Nathan's relationship with Dan; she would have probably been able to answer Haley's previous questions too. Finally, she decided not to pry into his matters. "And then we studied for an hour or so." She shrugged. "Anyway, what's new with you today?"

Peyton regarded the change in topic. She answered Haley, giving her a detailed account of a hilarious prank that some kid played in her History class today that made the two of them burst out in another giggling fit.

But in the back of her mind, Peyton made a note of two things – first, the topic of Nathan seemed to fluster Haley a lot more than usual; second, if this was the result of the first day, then she would have to soon take back her words because in the very near future, Lucas _would get_ a reason to worry. A very, very significant reason.

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><p><strong>What do you think?<strong>


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